Canon SX10 is review

The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS Megazoom camera is the successor to the PowerShot S5 IS. When it comes to appearance, the Canon SX10 IS looks a lot like its predecessor, but if you thought its size would have decreased somewhat, you’re wrong; the camera has even slightly grown. However; you do get something in return. The 12x optical zoom lens has been replaced by a 20x version, which keeps Canon nicely in pace with its rivals. Thankfully, Canon’s image stabilization system supports the zoom lens in order to be able to work with it. Moreover, the resolution has increased from 8 to 10 Megapixels. And although we did not list an increase on our priority list, the image sensor has been enlarged too. A nice bit of compensation.

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS Megazoom camera
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera is a so-called Megazoom camera. This category has been popular with a large group of users for a long time now, and with good reason. Cameras such as the Canon SX10 IS seem to have found the almost perfect combination. They are compact and equipped with a large optical zoom range, which makes ease and all-round photography go hand in hand. One disadvantage compared to a digital SLR is the format of the image sensor. The differences are so significant that the negative effects of high resolution on a small sensor result in visible noise at higher ISO sensitivities. This means the digital SLR has the benefit of the doubt when it comes to image quality. And despite the many innovative solutions, the gap between these two segments continues to exist. That brings us right to the answer for when you’re choosing between a Megazoom and a DSLR camera. The question is: will you go for ease or quality?

Canon PowerShot review
During the test in practice, I used the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS with a 4GB SDHC card and besides that, I used it in combination with a special type Secure Digital memory card; the SanDisk Extreme Ducati Plus SD memory card. It has the size of a standard SDHC card but does have a unique feature; taking the card out of the camera you can snap it in two and a USB interface is then freed. This way you can insert the card directly into a free USB port and get access to the stored pictures or videos. No need for wires or a card reader, even the camera can be put aside.

This might be the most interesting question for next year with the introduction of the first compact Micro FourThirds cameras. Whether or not brands other than Olympus and Panasonic will bring out this kind of compact system cameras, remains to be seen. The Canon SX10 IS will have to settle for quite a full list of specifications and should be able to compete with competing Megazoom models. Whether or not Canon has succeeded in designing a perfect Megazoom camera can be read in the following Canon PowerShot SX10 IS review.